Author: allthingslakechelan

by Richard Uhlhorn

The big news at last Tuesday’s City Council meeting was Ray Dobb’s resignation from the Council. Ray and his wife are making a life change and moving to East Wenatchee where they have purchased a home. “We will be heading down by the end of September,” said Dobbs. “I have enjoyed doing this. It is an opportunity for somebody else to serve”

Councilmember Ray Dobbs has resigned his position effective at the end of September when he moves to East Wenatchee.

Mayor Bob Goedde said that the City will accept letters of intent from potential individuals to replace Dobbs on the Council. Goedde expects it to take two weeks to a month to find a replacement and depending on how many people are interested, Goedde said they would wheedle that down to the top three. “We are not going to replace you,” said Goedde. Dobbs had three more years to serve before his tenure was over or he was re-elected.

Whoever the Council selects to replace Dobbs, will occupy the seat for one of the three years remaining before facing the electorate. According to Goedde as of Monday morning, August 31, four individuals have so far thrown their name into the hat.

Dobbs also remarked that at the Port of Chelan County’s meeting that they had given away $4 million in small business loans during the pandemic so far. Cashmere ($93,000), Entiat ($35,000) and Wenatchee ($160,000) have all given some of the COVID CARES money to the Port to distribute.

The City of Chelan received $127,000 from the Government and Dobbs asked how much money the City has given the Port. Goedde replied that they haven’t given any funds because they are paying $10,000 a weekend for security at the parks.

Dobbs said he would like to see some of the CARES money go back to the small businesses in the community. “I don’t know that we’ve done enough,” said Dobbs. “We need to do something.”

John Olson told the Council that the STR (Short Term Rentals) debate is still going on at Chelan County. (Note: Since John’s Council comments, Chelan County has placed moratorium on STRs). Olson stated that Chelan County has a new Planning Director who is getting an assistant to help in the office along with two new planning positions. “They are moving (County) Code Enforcement to the Sheriff’s Office,” said Olson. Real estate is still booming in the County and Olson doesn’t see it going away.

He remarked during a telephone conversation on Monday, August 31, that Leavenworth is installing parking meters throughout town with the proceeds eventually going towards building a Parking Garage.

Outdoor seating areas for three restaurants are being installed this week with funding from the City’s CARES funds.

Erin McCardle told the Council that she was hoping to do the downtown outdoor seating for three restaurants. She also agreed with Dobbs on the $125,000 the City received in CARES funding. “I would love to see where that money is going,” stated McCardle. “We need to be prepared for a tough Fall.” She also would like to see a Fall cleanup in town with pressure washing on the sidewalks.

Ty Witt remarked that the weekend parking situation has gotten much better. He also remarked that while there have been some complaints, “nobody is going to like everything we do.”

Peter Jamtgaard said he was saddened by Dobb’s leaving the Council. “He has mentored me.” With regards to the bridge jumping, Jamtgaard said the City has a duty to do more to stop it. Goedde said more signage was going up and a $200 fine will be assessed to jumpers.

Jumping or diving from the City’s bridges will become expensive if those jumping or diving are given a ticket. 

Geodde also said he had called the Washington Association of Cities to see if it would be permissible to install a boom under the bridge where jumping is taking place to protect lives. “They said absolutely not.”

With regards to outdoor seating, Goedde said that the 25% capacity facing restaurants is a tough go for them. “I’m not sure we are helping them with only two to three hours worth of business. It is almost to late in the season.”

Wade Ferris added that Public Works Director Jake Youngren has receive 10 signs to be place on all four corners of both the old and new bridge with one in the middle to help mitigate the jumping issue.

Chelan’s Wastewater Treatment Plant received the 2019 Outstanding Performance Award out of 300 plants statewide. The achieved full compliance with its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit in 2019.

The Council approved an amendment change for the Tourist Accommodation Zoning District for cottage wineries. This amendment was recommended by the Chelan Planning Commission.

The Council approved reapplying for RCO Grants that were not awarded to the City for Lakeside Park improvements in 2018. Eleven projects were awarded with Chelan being an alternate at number 14 on the list. The hope is that these grants will be awarded. The Council matching funds in the amount of $331,596.

On Tuesday, September 1, the City will be holding a workshop beginning at 4 p.m. This meeting will be live-streamed on Lakechelannow.com

RECENT POSTS

• Hospital moving forward with new ClinicAugust 26, 2020
• Chelan Fire has busy JulyAugust 24, 2020
• Community Center at Lake Chelan reaches new milestone… ground breaking soonAugust 22, 2020
• School year plans for remote learning setAugust 14, 2020

by Richard Uhlhorn

Chelan School Superintendent Barry DePaoli told the school board on Tuesday evening, August 25, that the Chelan-Douglas Health District did not accept its first proposal to allow small groups of kid into the classrooms. “We will be approved by Friday to bring in small groups,” said DePaoli. “We have to be really careful on how we do that.”

DePaoli also stated that there are a number of families who want their children in a remote environment. “Some prefer to remain remote. We need an online option more specific to COVID.”

From Tuesday, September 1 to Thursday, September 3, the District will be holding an orientation with parents and students. “We are going to be connecting with each student one-on-one with Zoom,” said DePaoli. There are 1,400 students in the District.

Food service will begin again on September 1. “We are getting that system built,” said DePaoli.

School will officially begin on Tuesday, September 8. Staff has been receiving online remote learning training over the past week. “A lot of the staff have been sharing ideas with one another,” stated DePaoli.

The District will be utilizing a Project Based Learning protocol that will require collaboration and teacher guidelines with the students. This model will allow the teachers to instruct student lessons t home whether it be by video/podcast/book/website. The students will work in class and receive teacher support as needed.

“I think the Project Based Learning has a lot of clout,” said DePaoli.

Board member Lynda Foster remarked that she was glad that a Project Based Learning system will be used. “I understand the value of that.” DePaoli replied that it really dovetails well with critical thinking. “I love the fact that we have student choice. Staff will be really engaged.”

MOE Principal Erin Morin remarked that the elementary school will have a drive up teachers table to meet students from afar. Staff at MOE are learning how to utilize the technology.

Middle School Principal Brian Wood said that they are partnering with the high school so parents with students in both the Middle School and High School won’t have to come in twice. Parents will be learning passwords for their students to alleviate any potential problems of signing onto Skyward.

High School Principal Brad Wilson said he has met with his staff and they are being fine tuned for the start of school. “We are trying to work with parents and kids at both schools for some face time with teachers… especially the (incoming) Freshmen.

CIS Principal Erik Peterson said they were finding new ways to engage kids in his system. “We are establishing accountability and expectations,” said Peterson.

DePaoli remarked that the District is in a much different place than last spring. “The staff is in a way better place and we are excited even though we are going to be remote.” However DePaoli stated that, “Child Care is the biggest issue in the community. I wish we could take care of that.” DePaoli is seeking answers to the child care issue.

At least 90+ percent of the District’s staff will be working from their individual classrooms at each school and all staff members will be required to attend staff and department meetings. “It’s going to be a challenge,” said DePaoli.

AllThingsLakeChelan will continue to update the community as more information about District school reopening comes forth.

By Richard Uhlhorn

The Hospital Board discussed the upcoming change from the Primary Care Clinic to an Express (Walk-in) Clinic that, according to Interim Chief Financial Officer Viola Babcock, will be open seven days a week with a only a staff of seven.

It is slated to open on November 1. Medical personnel will include two Certified Family Nurse Practitioners who don’t require a physician’s oversight.

Start up costs are estimated at $110,000, with $80,000 for buildout of the new location and $20,000 for advertising. Rohrich said, “Nobody will be turned away and we will be able to bill Medicare.”

The funding for the clinic will come out of the COVID fund.

CEO George Rohrich congratualted the hospital’s Chief Quality Officer Maria Sirois on her becoming nationally certified in infection control (CIC). “She may be our first CIC in our history,” Rohrich told the Board. “It will help us in moving forward.”

Rohrich give an update on the forthcoming strategy plan, telling the board that he needed to wait until the design team comes back with cost estimates or changes in costs and space of building the new hospital. “We should have a Strategy Plan after that,” he said. “It may drive some of our goals.” Any changes to the design efforts will mostly be COVID learned changes Rohrich added.

The Design Team will be giving their updates on October 9 in what Rohrich things will be no more than a two hour meeting. After that Rohrich said it would take a half day for a facilities review they have been discussing.

Under New Business, Rohrich discussed Resolution #626 CEO Authority. “This resolution was created and drafted by our counsel,” said Rohrich. The document outlines the authority the hospital’s CEO has in situations that do not require Board approval. “This resolution makes (my) authority very clear.” Rohrich shaved zeros off a number of issues he has control over bringing one down to $25,000 and another down to $10,000. The board approved his changes to the CEO authority resolution.

Emergency situations like a hot water heater going out would be within the CEO’s authority to approve expenditures to fix without Board Approval.

The Hospital’s finances saw a $1.2 million in increased volume over June and July. Mary Signorelli said, “It is great to see a positive bottom line.”

Rohrich stated that July was a good month for the hospital. “We almost hit the orange bar. We had no beds available and we haven’t seen that in awhile.”

“The community is still hampered by COVID,” explained Rohrich, Agustin Venegas said the hospital has to cancel its annual Fun Run but did have two successful events; one was handing out backpacks to students who needed them and the second was teaching new parents how to install car seats so the child would be safe in case of a collision. “COVID is ruining our Fun Run,” said Benegas.

by Richard Uhlhorn

Fire Chief Mark Donnell, does not see any major changes to Chelan Fire & Rescue’s revenues based on current real estate values. “I don’t see that changing,” said Donnell. He feels that the real estate values will remain high over the next few years and sees no reason to move forward with a levy request.

Donnell reported that this July has been the third busiest July in the District’s history. “We have been busier than normal,” stated Donnell. “We’ve had a number fires out of the District. The good thing is we’ve had zero dollars in fire loss.”

Beginning on July 11, the District responded to the Mansfield Brush Fire that ended up with State mobilization. That fire was the first major blowup that required state mobilizations. On July 24 District personnel were mobilized to the Coluckum Fire. Four days later on July 28, the Waterville Brush Fire became a state mobilized fire and on July 30 the District helped on the Moses Coulee Fire which was also a state mob. fire.

Other fires and emergency response involving fire personnel was the Easy Street Fire on July 13, a structure fire on Chelan Butte on July 17, a brush fire in Chelan Falls on July 22 and a structure fire on July 30.

Rescue crews responded to a situation in the Chelan River Gorge where four Seattle adventure hikers were trapped by high water on the wrong side of the Gorge. They were eventually rescued by Chelan Fire & Rescue with the help of the High Ropes Rescue Team from Wenatchee.

In addition to the fire activity, the District was involved in the rescue of four trapped young adults in the Chelan River Gorge when the PUD released 800 cubic feet of water. This rescue included personnel from the Wenatchee Fire District’s rope rescue team.

There was a conversation about hiring ER Recovery, a company that offers billing services and IT solutions for first responders and ambulance companies. Donnell said, “They specialize with invoicing and billing and pretty impressive statistics.”

The District has billed several companies for emergency calls to defray resource costs. One such company is Chelan Tree Removal for a non-permitted fire that required District resources. They have not responded to the District. Two other companies who have not replied to District invoicing for resources is Safeway and Kelly’s Hardware, both of whom had need of Hazmat services. “We need to have some incentive to sold these problems,” said Donnell.

Who to bill and who not to bill was a part of the conversation. “Are they residents in the Fire District? The District’s rescue operation in the Chelan River Gorge involved four individuals who are Seattle residents, and who did not heed PUD Warning Signs to stay out of the Gorge.

There was also a recent paragliding accident on Chelan Butte that required District resources to remove the badly injured pilot. “This was a high risk rescue that used a lot of manpower which taxes our system,” said Donnell. “They take the responsibility and we need to go after them for those (resource) charges,” stated Donnell.

Oules asked who would be excluded from District charges. “Are we billing those idiots (Gorge rescue),” asked Oules. Moller said he would be in favor of billing or hiring ER Recovery, but felt it need more discussion. “We only have five or six instances a year,” said Donnell.

The recent Knapps Coulee Fire was contained quickly by
Chelan Fire and Rescue personnel.

“Turnout is pretty good,” stated Donnell. “We had enough people at Knapps Coulee to get around the fire and were able to call of air support before using it. A few minutes more and we would have needed it.” The cause of the Knapps Coulee fire is still under investigation. “It was close to the road, so it could have been a cigarette or a spark.”

There have been two Marine 71 operations. “I’ve been quite impressed with how quickly we’ve been able to respond. I think we’ve been able to put together a very good marine and rescue swimmer program.”

Chelan’s Fire and Rescue’s Marine 71 has been highly successful responding to accidents on Lake Chelan this summer. 

Russ Jones stated that he is impressed and happy with some of the volunteers for the Marine program. “It was a gratifying water rescue. We made a difference in the outcome,” said Jones who added that Marine 71 arrived several minutes before the Sheriff and the Sheriff’s Marine Patrol boat showed up alone.

State mobilization brings in additional revenue to the District and Administrative Assistant Carol Kibler said the District has receive $27,000 in state mobilization funds which is being placed into the District’s Capital Investment Fund.

However, Chief Donnell told the Commissioners that California had called and asked for some resources. There was also a request for a crew to Okanogan. “That’s not going to happen,” said Donnell. “I don’t want to deplete our resources.”

Phil Moller stated that was a good choice. “We get one out and no one else goes.”

The District and City have scheduled a meeting for Tuesday, August 25 regarding fire services to the City. “Hopefully I can update you (on negotiations) next week,” said Donnell.

The Siren was also a topic of discussion at the meeting. “We have strong support of the community,” said Donnell. The activation of the Siren for a structure fire in Chelan Falls was not needed. “We did not receive a lot of complaints. We will do whatever the board wants.”

Moller remarked that he thought the Siren was to be used when the community was in imminent danger like the 2015 Complex. “It’s old technology. We never want to use the Siren to get people to respond. It should not have gone off for Chelan Falls.”

Donnell replied that the Siren can be changed for however the commission wants. Russ Jones replied that he wanted to leave things as they are. “I’ve been impressed with the support. We need to get information out on Social Media.”

Karyl Oules said, “I’d like to leave it where it is. If we start having issues with it we can come back and visit.”

Chief Donnell brought up the 2020-2025 Long Range Plan and SWOT Analysis and told the board that the District needs buy-in from the Board, Staff, Fire Fighters, Volunteer Fire Fighters and the Community. This document is only good when you buy into it,” he told the Board.

The three questions on the SWOT Analysis are:

1. Where are we;
2. Where are we going; and,
3. How do we get there.

Moller asked if he had talked with Chief Arnold Baker about their plan and the way District 5 has their plans laid out. Donnell replied that District 5’s document is a usable guide of the District. He stated that he would be visiting with Baker and talk about how both organizations can cooperate.

The Board and others are in the process of reviewing the 2020-2025 Long Range Plan and will discuss its content and any changes at the next Fire District meeting.

by Richard Uhlhorn

There is an ongoing project in the Lake Chelan Valley that will not only benefit, but will have a major impact on every man, women and child in the future. It’s called the Community Center Lake Chelan (CCLC) and the process to construct the Center has reached several milestones.

Seven Acres Foundation closed on six acres of property adjacent to Hwy. 150 between Chelan and Manson as the final location for the upcoming Community Center at Lake Chelan.

This week, Seven Acres Foundation, finalized the purchase of property at the foot of the Lookout adjacent to Hwy 150 between Chelan and Manson. The construction of the Center on this six acre plot of land will become a focal point for residents and visitors when the first phases are completed 2021.

This enables Seven Acres to commence with groundbreaking next month for construction of the Community Center at Lake Chelan. “We can really look at this closing as a quadruple win, where four separate entities got together in a spirit of cooperation to enhance the future of our area,” said Ben Williams, president of the Seven Acres Foundation.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to be ending up with nine acres of wonderfully suited property along Anderson Road to build a planned neighborhood of affordable homes. This will fulfill our property needs for years to come. The parties all worked together to create a deal with the best outcome for each organization. This is a huge win for our community,” said Mike Cooney, executive director of the Chelan Housing Trust.

The Foundation originally secured land adjacent to Anderson Road, but the Bighorn property below the Lookout is more centrally located for the Community Center.

Dallas Widmark, General Manager of the Lookout, said “we are extremely pleased to have played a role in helping facilitate this great win. In return for our three-acre donation, Chelan Valley workers will now have access to many more units of workforce housing, the Seven Acres foundation has a convenient new location between the towns of Chelan and Manson, and the Lookout community and Chelan Valley residents will all have a great new facility to utilize.”

The plan includes a  large, multi-purpose facility with a full size basketball court, two practice courts or three volleyball courts, and a community meeting place. Other amenities include a coffee shop, commercial kitchen, indoor swimming pool, a kids indoor play area, multi-purpose rooms, private offices and a workspace center.

Outside facilities will include pickleball courts and sand volleyball courts.

The Community Center at Lake Chelan will provide affordable event space for cultural and social activities such as Quinceañeras, birthdays, anniversaries, corporate events and other special occasions with an emphasis on serving the agricultural worker population in the Lake Chelan Valley.

The Foundation has already raised in excess of 50% of the estimated cost of the project and will be holding future fund raising benefits to help raise the rest of the funding needed to complete the center. “We are right at the tipping point,” said Foundation President Ben Williams. “It is going to happen!”

Major funding for the center has come from the Names Family Foundation, Scott & Brook Isaac, RealLife NCW and the Rynd Family Foundation. Other sponsorships have come from Cashmere Valley Bank, Lake Chelan Building Supply, the Lookout and the State of Washington.

” Westby Associates have been very helpful with our fundraising efforts,” said Williams. They and Representative Mike Steele helped the Foundation receive a $250,000 State grant for engineering development. “We spend the money and the State reimburses us when we invoice,” said Williams. “The exciting part for me is the connection with people and resources… the number of people who have approached us for sponsorships.”

“The Department of Commerce have been great to work with. Folks are very supportive of the project,” stated Dan Hodge, vice president of the Foundation. Williams added that the City of Chelan has also been very supportive. “They’ve been great to work with,” said Williams.

The Foundation received the Notice of Decision today for approval of a Conditional Use Permit by City of Chelan Land Use Hearing Examiner, CUP #2020-08 and SEPA #2020-06, for the Community Center at Lake Chelan.

With the CUP in hand, the next step is for the Foundation to submit a grading permit application to move toward ground breaking, earthwork, and infrastructure at the Bighorn location.

“We have a lot of good people… a steering committee who are highly committed to making this happen,” said Hodge.

A portion of the funding for work at the site and may come from construction loans and bridge loans.

Last September, the Foundation held a Gala at Wapato Point which raised an additional $750,000 plus a number of pledges. “Hopefully we will be able to hold another fund raising gala this September,” said Hodge. Unfortunately, with the current pandemic, having a live Gala is probably going to be impossible.

The original concept for a Community Center came from Kyle Plew, Real Life, who had long wanted a facility where people could meet. The church elders got involved and the group looked at building the facility on a nine acre parcel adjacent to Anderson Road out by the warehouses on donated land. Williams said, “Real Life was the huge driver behind this.” The group spun off from the church, but the Conditional Use Permit includes allowing the church, a school and assemblies.

When land became available at the Lookout, the Foundation made a deal with the Chelan Valley Housing Trust and made a swap which donated five acres to the Housing Trust.

According the Foundations Executive Director Raye Evans, the project is a desire to serve the community by providing a resource to strengthen non-profits and the underserved populations who rely on them. “We want to bring people of all backgrounds together and provide working, event and recreation spaces accessible to everyone in the community,” said Evans. “To ensure this facility is able to be a sustaining pillar and a resource in the community, we have developed an operations model that runs similar to a for-profit business in that it is predominantly based on earned revenue for facility usage.”

Dan Hodge, vice president of the Foundation said, “This will be a facility large enough and affordable enough for the community.”

The entire Foundation is build on the following CORE VALUES:

• Relationships – Building healthy families and friendships, and leveraging the power of community;
• Compassion – Meeting the needs of the unserved and underserved;
• Service – Promoting volunteerism as a way of life;
• Connection – Use the Community Center at Lake Chelan as a tool to connect
• individuals, non-profits and business.

Partnerships are a huge part of the plan and the Foundation has signed exclusive agreements with several organizations.

• BE.FIT Chelan has teamed up with the Community Center to provide fitness programs. This will include fitness classes for senior citizens, a water aerobics program, and wellness instruction to people of all ages and fitness levels.
• 

  “Teaming up with the Community Center provides a perfect opportunity for us to substantially broaden the range of our fitness programs,” said Jen Bordner. She and her partner, Sara England, are looking forward to the day the center opens for business.

• The Kahiau Volleyball Club also signed a partnership with the center. The Club, which was started by Desiree Phelps is also looking forward to having a full-time base for the Club’s 10+ teams. “The Community Center will be a great fit for us and we are excited to have a single home base in the future.” Phelps did not discount the help from local schools, but added that they have had to compete for gym space and time. “The new partnership will help our program immensely.” The Kahiau Volleyball Club welcomes everyone to join the club. “Our membership extends beyond Chelan and Manson,” said Phelps.

• The Vine Coffee is also excited to have an exclusive partnership with the Community Center. Holly Moody, and her husband Ryan, are thrilled with the opportunity to having their own small business at the Center. “We are thrilled to be a part of this project.” The Vine Coffee will not only offer a variety of coffee drinks, but juices, breakfast sandwiches, paninis, homemade cookies and other items. It will be located in a prime location at the Center which will include indoor and outdoor seating.

• Real Life NCW is one of the first partnerships at the Center. This local church organization has been holding its services in the Performing Arts Center at Chelan High School and is looking forward to having the opportunity to operate out of one location for its services and youth engagement activities.

The architectural design for the Center is by Complete Design of Wenatchee. The contractor is Rimmer and Roeter of Cashmere, Washington.

For more information on the upcoming facility, visit the following websites:

http://sevenacresfoundation.org/ https://chelanvalleyhousing.org/ https://chelanlookout.com/ http://reallifencw.com/

Join these Sponsors, Partners and Team Members in this exciting project:
https://ccatlakechelan.org/partners/

Real Life, NCW; Names Family Foundation; The Vine Coffee; Swimworld; Torrence Engineering; Rimmer & Roeter Construction; Ogden Murphy Wallace; Complete Design Inc.; Chelan Sand & Gravel; CB; Lake Chelan Winery; Wapato Point Cellars; BE.FIT Chelan; Lake Chelan Building Supply; Kahiau Volleyball Club; and Cashmere Valley Bank.

by Richard Uhlhorn

The Lake Chelan School District has received the first ever TEALS Founder’s Award for growing its computer science classes to include every freshman. Principal Brad Wilson told the School Board at its meeting on Thursday evening, August 13, that a trophy from Microsoft has arrived by mail. “I’ve put it in our trophy case,” said Wilson. The High School has been in a program with Microsoft to introduce computer skills including coding to every freshman enrolled in the school. “They (freshmen) don’t show up showing a passion for computer science,” Wilson said. Microsoft has volunteers that help educate students in computer sciences.

Superintended Barry DePaoli stated that the program added a “big bump to our technology. It was dollars well spent. Congratulations to the High School.”

Microsoft President Brad Smith congratulated Chelan High School for winning the first TEALS Founders Award. “In less than three years, this rural Washington school has grown its computer science pathway to include an intro class for every freshman. Students deserve the opportunity to learn computer science from an early age.”

DePaoli went from Wilson’s announcement into the Fall Reopening Plan. “I will be communicating to families next week,” he told the Board. “My goal (tonight) is to have the board approve our plan.” Once approved, he will be sending the plan on to OSPI for their approval.

The board also approved a $40,000 expenditure to AT&T to provide 130 hotspots for all of the students who currently are without internet.

The District will be using Google Classroom as its primary learning management platform this coming school year. “Every day students will be getting live training,” said DePaoli. Plans are being made to also orient student’s parents to the technology being used.

DePaoli is also submitting a plan to Dr. Butler at Chelan-Douglas Health to bring five students into live classrooms. These students will be those with no access, are homeless or otherwise are special needs students. They will be served in the classroom by the school’s ParaPros.

Each school day will begin with daily attendance, and period attendance for the secondary classes. “There will be a lot more student interaction and an age appropriate curriculum,” said DePaoli. “I will say that a lot of good work with our principals, staff, parents and students has been accomplished.” DePaoli said the District is going to have to be flexible and adaptable to remote learning.

Elementary Principal Erin Morin stated that MOE would have staggered start times where the students log on. On-line courses with teachers will begin at 9 a.m. and every child will be in small group meetings.

The school lunch program will be offered from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. pickup. In the afternoon students will work on independent work.

Middle School Principal Brian Wood expects students to be prepared for live instruction with a “Brain Break” mid-morning. He is working on a remote Physical Education program where students can get outside and exercise. From 1:30 to 3 p.m. will be teacher intervention time.

Board chair Jeff Fehr asked how band would work. “I’ve been working with Steve (Burdick) with ideas on that,” said Wood. DePaoli remarked that Zoom Live might work with music.

Kim Thorpe asked how students who were ahead of their grade level would be treated.

Wood answered that they would be evaluated through the Cohort system which can track academic data related to specific student groups. Cohort refers to a group of individuals who have something in common. In education, cohort is typically applied to students who are being educated at the same period of time in a specific class.

High School Principal Brad Wilson said his focus will be on “making sure we are meeting graduation requirements.”

He said, “It is really important to focus on self managment.” Students will be given reminders on Monday mornings of what is expected and due.

Lynda Foster and Kim Thorpe congratulated the administration for creating a remote learning experience for students this fall. Fehr said, “I feel much better going into this year.” He asked about late start Mondays because that is in the teacher contracts. DePaoli stated that he needs to look at that.

Eric Peterson, CSI (School of Innovation) stated that the was cautiously optimistic. He said he was going to set the tone and expectations with his students. “I’m going to set up a kinda contract so people understand what is expected of them.”

Peterson said he would be emphasizing social reasoning and talking about the upcoming election.

DePaoli added that he is working closely with the Health District to set up a hybrid model for CSI. “We continue to look at how to reach out to our kids.” If his petition is approved at the Health District, they would bring special education back to the school setting.

Rosey Burkhard has prepared 12 or 13 different handbooks for the health and safety of staff and students that are in the school. DePaoli added that he is working on bringing students back to the school, even it is outdoors to interact with their teachers.

Regarding athletics… DePaoli said it will be a long time before athletes will be allowed again.

The District is preparing a press release and letter that will be sent out next week to parents and the press regarding the reopening of the school year.

by Richard Uhlhorn

Chelan’s City Council addressed agenda items at its virtual meeting on Tuesday evening, August 11.

At the Council’s request regarding criminalizing the consumption of alcohol at its public park, Quentin Batjer, city attorney, wrote this introduction on the City’s agenda bill “Open Container/Consumption of Alcohol in City Parks.”

As requested, I have been drafting an ordinance regarding re-criminalizing opening or consuming alcohol in parks. What started as a relatively simple task has taken on new flavor as I realized that state law also treats opening/consuming alcohol as a civil infraction as opposed to criminal conduct. In other words, the City wants to criminalize something that the state legislature has expressly said is not a crime.

 The idea of changing the City’s ordinance from a civil infraction to a criminal infraction would give the Sheriff’s deputies the power to arrest when there is over drunkenness or unruly behavior in the parks.

During the discussion on the issue, Erin McCardle stated that there were only three major problem weekends the City has to deal with. She stated that she would hate to see a family enjoying a bottle of wine with their lunch be tagged with an infraction. In addition, she said, “We just don’t have the staffing level to have the Sheriff in the parks.”

Mayor Goedde stated that at this stage of the game the City doesn’t have a problem until the younger crowd comes. “Our visitors have changed to a younger party type this year.”

Ray Dobbs added, “We saw that on the Fourth of July. The last several weekends have been more family oriented.”

City Administrator Wade Ferris remarked that the past weekend with security was moderately successful, but there were still some glitches to overcome. “We will have a different plan of action  in place this coming weekend,” he said. This is based on feedback from citizens, security people and parks staff. “The security people did not have their first string on hand.”

Don Morse Park was much more controlled than Lakeside Park and Ferris said the security people need very clear instructions and if there was any question, they had the phone numbers for Parks Director Paul Horne and himself. “Hopefully we will relieve some of the confusion.”

Lakeside Park was full most of the day on Saturday

Parking was still a problem at Lakeside, particularly on the highway. Signage will be moved out beyond where it was last weekend. “Hopefully as word gets out, more people will understand that it is First Come – First Serve.”

Goedde remarked that putting a “Park Closed” sign prior to the entrance might help a lot. Ferris also said people will get into the park if they can prove they are a Chelan resident.

Peter Jamtgaard remarked that it wasn’t perfect but the results were way past where the City was previously. Tim Hollingsworth said that a lot of people came up to recreate at the parks from Wenatchee. “The security folks were taking a lot of questions.” He felt that Sunday was a lot better than Saturday. “The neighborhoods were not full of cars and that is a real positive step,” said Hollingsworth. He also said that a Spanish speaking security guard was needed at the entrances.

Ray Dobbs remarked that it was a great first weekend. He stated that with schools being shut down, he expects visitors beyond Labor Day. Servando Robledo said he talked to some Hispanics and they were confused, but then understood why the City was doing what it was.

Robledo was asked if he could record something in Spanish for the radio stations. He said he would be happy to do so if someone would give him a template.

McCardle said she would make sure that the hotels and vacation rentals have the information the City sent out. “I will make a personal followup. We also need to find that avenue for the Hispanic community.” Robledo said that word has to get into the Spanish newspaper on onto the Spanish radio shows and stations. “We need to get the word out to that community in Wenatchee and up to Brewster,” said Robledo.

The PUD micro park at the Forest Service was busy on Saturday afternoon.

Chelan Waterfront Access Plan Update: https://cityofchelan.civicweb.net/document/26615/Chelan%20Waterfront%20Access%20Plan%20Update.pdf?handle=AEB63D5288E8487BA4F9FCA4B7C91A24

In August of 2019, the Chelan City Council approved a Professional Services Agreement with JA Brennan to conduct a feasibility study of potential public access points to help disburse overcrowding at Chelan’s parks and to give locals more public access to the lake.

Jim Brennan provided an update on his feasibility study at the Tuesday meeting. The link above will give readers an opportunity to study the identified areas for public access and the conceptual visual plans for each of them.

“Paul (Horne) and I have been collaborating on design and the following are preliminary concepts with cost estimates,” Brennan told the council members.

Councilman John Olson remarked in the Council/Mayor comments later that only one percent of Lake Chelan is open to the public.

Many of these street ends that make up the majority of potential public access points have limited parking potential and Brennan remarked that many of them would be walk-in or bike-in access points for the local community. They all are close to or adjacent to the proposed Northshore Trail on the north side of the lake and Lakeside Trail on the south side of the lake.

Some of the potential sites are considered low hanging fruit… the best and easiest to construct. They are:

Site A – Waterfront Access at Lake Chelan Shores

Site B – Dietrich Road street end.

Site C – Bridge site by the Grandview on the Lake

Site D – N. Park Street street end at Petersons

            Site E – Vacated street end between Sunset Marina and the Lady of the Lake

Site F – Main Street end

Site H – Green Dock

Activities at these sites could include viewing, swimming, hiking/biking, hand carried boat access, wading, picknicking, fishing and just playing or socializing.

Brennan talked about each of the preferred sites. He feels the Dietrich Street End could eventually hookup with the Spader Bay property.

Since there is no parking at the Peterson’s street end, Brennan remarked that it would be a great walk-in or ride-in for locals on the Lakeshore trail. “It’s already a nice access point,” said Brennan. “It could be a better connection but there isn’t a lot of public parking.”

Horne remarked that the manager at Sunset Marina was excited about the possibility of a beach area between the Boat Company and marina. The Courtney’s also saw a lot of potential for the Boat Company’s customers to relax while waiting for the boat.

Green Dock is already well used by locals. “Most of these sites are used more by locals,” said Brennan. His concept includes an overlook dock at the corner of Water Street and Terrace Avenue and shade trees down Terrace Avenue. There are private docks under lease with the PUD and Brennan said they would remain.

“Some of these sites could be very simple (to construct),” remarked Horne. “There is a lot of low hanging fruit and we will factor these sites into the Park’s Master Plan to be eligible for grants and funding.”

Ty Witt acknowledged the tremendous body of work that went into the feasibility study and said, “I just love it.” Hollingsworth said the City needs to cultivate good relationships with the neighboring property owners and bring the community together.

Dobbs stated that the feasibility study is one more piece to the public access puzzle, but asked if there were still questions about the legality of those street ends being public. Brennan replied that his research has cleared most and was working with landowners for easements. “It is pretty well documented,” said Brennan.

Council/Mayor Comments:

 During these comments Dobbs asked if a citizen’s group could write parking tickets to fill in the gap for those law enforcement deputies who don’t have enough time. “I think it would be valuable. The highways are dangerous,” said Dobbs. He is concerned with parked cars blocking bike lanes and pedestrian traffic.

Mayor Goedde stated he contacted the insurance company and said the City was only allowed to place cones to the city limits… everything beyond is the state’s responsibility. He has asked the DOT to move the 35 mph sign farther out so drivers know they have to slow down.

Hollingsworth said he didn’t have much to add but remarked that the pandemic has brought things to a head.

Dobbs commented that he was told the overflow from the parks ended up in Riverwalk Park. Hollingsworth added that they didn’t notice a lot of additional parking up at his location.

John Olson stated that he appreciates the effort but that it is to little, to late.

Erin McCardle asked for $8,000 from the $126,000 CARES funds to help build outdoor seating to increase capacity at the local restaurants. Goedde added that it wouldn’t be a permanent fix. Hollingsworth said he wanted to see plans before he could support the expenditure. McCardle promised to give a summary to each councilmember after the Downtown Associations meeting on Thursday.

Olson said he wasn’t against the idea but has been caught by surprise. In the end, the $8,000 was granted.

With regards to jumping off the bridge, new signs would be put up warning jumpers they were in violation and could end up with a $500 fine. “I think if we give out a few tickets, the word would get out quickly,” said Ferris.

by Richard Uhlhorn

The Chelan School Board met in special session Thursday, August 6, to discuss Superintendent Barry DePaoli’s recommendation to reopen the School District remotely.

The School Board approved a motion to open remotely with one member voting No.

Student in the Lake Chelan School District will start the school year remotely and won’t be allowed back in the classrooms until the COVID case counts go down and the County is allowed to move to new Phases. Full reopening for K-8th grade won’t happen until the County moves to Phase 3 and High School students will not be allowed back until the County is at Phase 4.

DePaoli told the board that the Chelan-Douglas Health District and the Governor are against opening schools to students until the COVID case counts come down. Currently, the positive case counts are at 550+ per 100,000.

“If we were not to follow the guidelines we would not get insurance coverage,” said DePaoli.

Board member Kim Thorpe asked if the state was specifically saying that the school can’t reopen. DePaoli replied that the District has to reopen remotely. “If we want to bring in students, it has to be in groups of five for each classroom,” DePaoli said. Prior to being able to bring in students, a plan has to be submitted and approved by Dr. Butler at the Health District.

Augustin Benagas asked if insurance would still cover the District if they were allowed to bring in five students per class. DePaoli replied only if Dr. Butler approves it.

Thorpe said she is concerned for the younger kids starting remotely. Her fear is that parents will be unable to support them and said, “I feel we could bring in those kids on alternating days.” She does not see remote learning for younger student as a learning environment.

DePaoli told Thorpe that it is a real challenge. “We have to follow the Health District guidelines. We will look for ways we can assist those students remotely.” He suggested that perhaps their older siblings could help out.

Thorpe wondered if 10 students couldn’t be brought in instead of five. DePaoli replied that the plan is capped at five students per class. Thorpe kept pushing and said, “The guidelines and suggestions are obviously open to some leeway.” DePaoli replied, “The leeway is that we can bring in five at a time. The decision is that we will open remotely and plan for up to five students.”

Lynda Foster weighed in on the argument and said, “We are not gathering to make a decision. The decision has already been made for us. The reality is that it is not up to us,” said Foster.

DePaoli went on to explain that the District’s teachers would not be expected to work two jobs. “We will manage classrooms (the five student classrooms) with special educators and Para Pros,” said DePaoli. “We are working out all of those details.”

For those parents of students and the teachers, DePaoli stated that there would be an identified start time and dismissal time plus intervention time for students who need it. “We have to serve those kids,” said DePaoli.

Reopening Phases will be as follows:

Phase 2 will allow children from Kindergarten to Fifth grade in school on a Hybrid s          Phase 3 will bring all Kindergarten to Eighth graders back into the classroom.
Phase 4 will allow High School students to come back to school.

Those students and parents who want their children to remain remote will be given that option through BYU and APEX for consistency.

Ken Brunner asked about medical checks for students. DePaoli said each student will have his/her temperature taken and will be required to mask. Any student who can not wear a mask will be required to have a doctor’s approval to not wear a mask.

Thorpe, towards the end of the meeting asked if the entire board would be willing to challenge the Health District guidelines to reopen. Brunner replied that would create too much risk to the students. “We would become a petri dish.” Jeff Fehr also replied that the District would be operating without insurance and that wasn’t being fiscally responsible.

DePaoli added that the District has both students and staff currently infected with COVID. “We need to bring the case counts down to bring students back,” he said

Benegas also said the District and community would be in full Flu Season this fall, which he added was not a good health recipe. DePaoli added that the Health District feels that the community is three weeks away from the peak in COVID cases.

The plan is for the first three days to be a face to face orientation with parents and students so they can understand what is happening. It will also be an opportunity to introduce students to their teachers.

Rosey Burkhard is preparing some marketing materials for the community.

“This is a really hard decision. This is a global pandemic. We need to value the opinion of these health officials,” added DePaoli.

The final reopening plan will be ready for the Board by August 14 and then sent to OSPI regarding the five students per class on August 18.

by Richard Uhlhorn 
Rena Rex, Chelan Ranger District, commented during last Thursday’s Leadership Response Team meeting that the District is continuing to see unprecedented recreational use of Forest lands. “This raises the risk of fire starts,” she said. On Monday, following the meeting, Kari Grover-Weir, Chelan District Ranger, remarked by telephone that fire fighters would be living in Spike Camps instead of a regular fire camp. “There is nothing in the works for a pre-firecamp,” stated Weir.

Chelan Ranger District seeing unprecedented recreational use on Forest lands leading to worries about potential forest fires

Debbie Conwell, Manson Chamber of Commerce, reported that she could echo everyone. “Manson parks are overrun and visitors are parking close to residents who are having a hard time getting out of their homes.” She also reported that Manson has shut down one block of Green Avenue in downtown Manson for outdoor dining only. “The tables will be socially distanced.” She added that the wine tasting rooms are having a hard time in downtown with outdoor seating because of permitting from the County and Liquor Control Board, but actually wineries can space people into the vineyards.

Mark Donnell, Chelan 7 Fire Chief, stated that businesses are saying they have had some of the best weekends on record.

Laura Schmidt, Columbia Valley Community Health, said that the providers in Chelan are being overrun by patients that have deferred their health car because of COVID. “We have sent a few to the hospital because we have not managed well,” said Schmidt. “It is not a sustanable model when we are seeing three patients instead of one at a time. We need to get people in.”

Positive cases are going up in the two counties. Joyous Van Meter, Chelan-Douglas Health District (CDHD) said. “We are at 1736 total cases in Chelan and Douglas Counties,” she said. “We had 45 new yesterday (Wednesday, July 29) raising our per 100,000 to 510 over the last 14 days. We’ve had three additional deaths in Chelan and Douglas.”

Van Meter also stated that the Health District is working on School Reopening Plans along with working on outreach to farm workers. She said that 42% of the positive cases were coming from individuals between the ages of 20 and 39. Van Meter added that both East Wenatchee and Wenatchee School Districts have decided to remain virtual this fall. “We will know from the State next week when schools can (fully) open, hybrid opening, or stay virtual only.”

Schmidt asked Van Meter if there had been any effort to track recovered numbers. “We’ve tried, but it is difficult,” said Van Meter. She also said they were seeing more clusters of cases in the business community. “Have you looked at a not testing option of treating this as a flu season,” asked Schmidt of Van Meter. She replied that the District does need to test everyone in the region, even if they are asymptomatic, to keep an eye on the disease. “To what end,” asked Schmidt? “To control clusters,” answered Van Meter. “We haven’t really treated any other disease like this.”

Yvonne Walker, the new superintendent at Manson School District, stated that it was in interesting time to take on the job. “We have amazing people here. We are going to make things work,” she said. “Spring was difficult for everyone.” She said she was confident that the public is going to be excited with what we are going to do in the Fall. However her concern is that if “there are flames in the community, we (the schools) will be the wind that carries it.”

Jim Colbert told the group that Cherry Season is over for Chelan Fruit. “We went 11 weeks without a positive. We had two positives this week,” he said. “We are happy we’ve kept the numbers to where we are.” Chelan Fruit is now gearing up for the apple/pear season. “There are quite a few migrant workers coming into the area from Mexico and Jamaica,” said Colbert.

Wade Ferris, Chelan City Administrator, said the City was preparing to limit the numbers of people in it parks. “We don’t have an easy venue,” said Ferris. “We will be working with the highway department and State Patrol on parking issues out there. We hope it will help with crowds.”

Sgt. Chris Foreman left a report that he is working with the City Council on parking issues with the City Parks. He also reported that the Sheriff’s Department is working with Washington State Patrol for parking issues outside the City limits, west on 97A because that is WSP territory.

Ray Eickmeyer also left a report that the Hospital and Clinic are testing for COVID and caring for COVID patients at the hospital. He wrote that the hospital is doing well with space, staffing, and resources even though they are busy.

Michael Steele reported that additional Small Business Grants are being made available through the Port of Chelan County. He also reported that efforts are being made for mask distribution and the Chamber is encouraging visitors to wear masks while in Chelan through paid media.

by Richard Uhlhorn

At its Tuesday, July 28, meeting, the Lake Chelan Community Hospital’s Board of Commissioners discussed at length the issue of restarting the new Hospital Project.

The new hospital project has been on hold until the hospital can prove that it can afford to pay the bond which currently will cost the facility an estimated $165,000 per month. One hundred thousand dollars will go towards the bond payment monthly and the other $65,000 will be saved in reserve.

Hospital CEO George Rohrich told his board of commissioners that he is very confident that the Hospital and Clinic can achieve enough business to afford to move forward with the construction project.

“I am very confident that we can achieve that, but I probably won’t be able to prove that (payment schedule) until the beginning of 2021,” said CEO George Rohrich. “I am recommending that the board restart the project,” he added.

Commissioner Fred Miller was on board from the beginning
to restart the hospital project.

Commissioner Fred Miller agreed with Rohrich that at a minimum the hospital needs to move forward. Commissioner Jordana LaPorte asked if Rohrich was recommending a full start. Rohrich replied that he was recommending the project begin again. “We have two years to meet the debt,” said Rohrich. “We need to get together and decide and approve any design changes and get this (project) permitted.”

The bond for $20 million of the total $44.5 million (USDA loan) was voted in by District residents in April, 2017. Since that time the facility had been resized from the original plan to provide 54,000 sq. ft. It is now down to 45,000 sq. ft. to stay under the $44.5 million dollars.

In February, the board voted to pause design and construction for a period of six months at which point they would re-evaluate the District’s financial situation.

On August 24, at a special board meeting, the commissioners made the decision to shutter its Sanctuary drug and alcohol program which will help the hospital gain more square footage for new services and potentially save $3 million dollars in construction costs.

Commissioner Jordana LaPorte is concerned with the
ongoing hospital financial picture.

LaPorte is very concerned with the financial outlook and whether or not the hospital will be underfunded. Fred Miller replied that they have to go to the next step to figure that out. Mary Signorelli added, “We will be looking at what needs to go into our facility. Give him (Rohrich) the green light to move forward.” She also stated that other decisions can be made at an upcoming workshop.

Rohrich told the board that they have to review the footprint now that the Sanctuary is no longer in play and also work the COVID environment into their decisions. “There will be multiple decisions for the board to consider,” said Rohrich.

LaPorte is concerned about the district having the revenue to pay for it. Mary Murphy is also concerned. “One hundred and sixty thousand dollars must be generated to pay the USDA loan,” she stated. “He (Rohrich) feels confident in trying to achieve that, but can’t really prove that until 2021.”

Commissioner Mary Murphy wants to see evidence that the District will be able to pay $165,000 per month.

Murphy added that there were a number of issues not under Rohrich’s control including, but not limited to negative conditions relating to the pandemic; patients not coming to the hospital currently for health care; and the health industry at large facing big changes. “We know our bond rating has gone down again,” said Murphy. “We need to look at our service lines and I’m having trouble with this.”

“Are we going to be able to pay if the criteria is $160,000 per month. I need to see the evidence,” said Murphy.

Miller said, “We don’t have a crystal ball if we don’t move forward. George wants permission to move forward.”

Commissioner Mary Signorelli said residents within the hospital district would like to see the board move ahead with the new hospital project.

Signorelli stated that she was not willing to become paralyzed over what the future holds. “People would like to see us move forward,” said Signorelli. “We have something to build on. Lets let the administration do their job.”

Rohrich said that approval to move forward would get the District and its designers back to designing. “There are a lot of approvals to come,” said Rohrich. “What I’ve asked for is to restart. We need to review the footprint and design.” He said he would come back to the board for budget approvals.

The board voted to approve moving forward with Mary Murphy the sole member of the board opposed.

The Board will convene a workshop sometime in September or October for a more meaningful report on the design.